Page 14 of Lust

Of course it was, complete with duckling yellow wings flaring from its back. It was kind of cute, in an adorably Gremlins sort of way. Round little face and wide mouth, with a tiny button nose and bright black eyes staring at her without blinking. Eddie lowered her lamp. “What are you doing here?”

“What are—”

“I live here.” The mimic game was getting old, fast.

“Here?” The imp looked around it with that unblinking stare. Its pink tongue shot out as if tasting the air. “Are you the hell guardian?”

In a manner of speaking, and not officially if anyone official ever asked. “Yes.”

“Huh?” It eyed her critically. “I thought you’d be bigger.” Its ears twitched, and one moved ninety degrees to the right. “You should be bigger.”

Eddie didn’t like the sound of that. “Why?”

The imp started. “Why what?”

“Why should I be bigger?”

Its ear shifted all the way around until it was facing backwards. “No reason.”

Now Eddie was no imp expert, but that seemed like a tell to her. “You’re lying.”

“Probably.” The imp shrugged. “I’m an imp; we lie.”

Well, that fit with what she knew of imps, admittedly not much. Actually, very little. Okay, nothing at all. Eddie put the lamp back on her bedside table. “Why don’t we start with why you’re here.” Then she added a proviso. “And without lying.”

“Hmm.” The imp gave that some thought, little horns vibrating. “I could try not to lie. If given the right incentive.” Its button eyes fastened on her with unnerving intensity.

“What sort of incentive?” Eddie wasn’t promising her first born or any such shit. She’d read fairytales, she had a suspicion where this was going.

Its face crumpled into a truly pitiful expression. “I’m hungry.” It glanced at the empty plate from her peanut butter sandwich. “And that smells like the sort of food for a hungry imp.”

Peanut butter? That she could do. Still keeping a respectable space between them, Eddie slipped her legs over the side of the bed.

The imp scrambled back, horns straightening like arrow points.

Moving slower, Eddie stood.

Cocking its head, the imp studied her from toes to top. “Hmm.”

Feeling suddenly exposed, Eddie grabbed a sweater and hauled it over her pjs. “What?”

“You might be big enough,” it said.

Peanut butter sandwich and truth it was. Eddie padded through to her kitchen.

The imp followed, its tail dragging on the ground behind. It watched her as she went through the motions of making a sandwich.

She handed the sandwich to him.

Snatching it from her, it opened its mouth, which split the bottom half of its face in two and tossed the sandwich in. Swallowing, it blinked at her.

Eddie made another sandwich. The size of its mouth made her regret her lack of a threatening lamp.

The second sandwich went the way of the first. Scratching behind an ear, the imp belched and nodded.

Dragging out a chair, Eddie sat at the kitchen table. The microwave clock announced the ridiculous hour of three a.m. “Do you have a name?”

“Yesterday.” The imp dragged out a second chair and scrambled onto the seat.

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